Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JUNE/JULY 2023 31 If he can't, it won't be for a lack of trying. "The receiving part of it has always sort of been there for me, but I really had to dig deep with the blocking," Mayer said. "It's gone really, really well this past season. Me and my tight ends coach worked on it a lot. It improved greatly. And it's only going to get better. "That's something I pride myself on a lot. I think being able to do both things out there is very, very important for a tight end. I'm going to keep working at both of them and keep trying to excel at both of them." ISAIAH FOSKEY FINDS A FIT IN NEW ORLEANS Isaiah Foskey took a redshirt as a freshman, even though Notre Dame's coaching staff didn't expect him to stick around for the fifth year that decision provided him. Foskey, even as an all- arms-and-legs freshman defensive end donning No. 94 in 2019, had the traits of a future starter and eventual draft pick. Those freshman year flashes turned into one of the most impressive two- year runs of a Notre Dame defensive player in recent memory. Foskey posted back-to-back 11-sack seasons in 2021 and 2022, and he ended his senior year as the program's all-time sacks leader. He became a clear pro prospect by the end of his junior season. He's officially a professional now. The New Orleans Saints selected Fos- key in the second round with the No. 40 overall pick. He was the fifth defensive end taken. He will sign a four-year con- tract worth in excess of $8.7 million. "It was an emotion you can't bottle in," Foskey said. "You just got to let it go. That's what happened. Family all around me. In that moment, you had to do what you had to do. I stood up. I was about to run through that TV. I was like, 'I'm ready to go right now.'" The 6-foot-5, 264-pound Foskey is the highest drafted Notre Dame pass rusher since Renaldo Wynn went No. 21 overall in 1997. He had 122 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss and 26.5 sacks in 41 career games. Pro Football Focus credited him with 85 career quarter- back pressures. He added 7 forced fumbles, 2 passes broken up and 3 fumble recoveries. Foskey also blocked four punts in his career, including two in one quarter in a win over UNLV last season. He broke Justin Tuck's Notre Dame career sack record of 24.5 in the first half of Notre Dame's 44-0 victory over Boston Col- lege on Nov. 19, 2022. Foskey was considered a Day 2 pick by most draft analysts in 2023, just as he was in 2022 when he bypassed the draft to return for his senior year. His pre-draft process didn't significantly impact it, even with a strong showing at the NFL Combine. TEXANS DRAFT JARRETT PATTERSON Jarrett Patterson arrived at Notre Dame as an 11th-hour addition to the Irish's 2018 signing class. He leaves with more career starts than all but a few players in team history, and as an NFL Draft pick. The Houston Texans chose Patterson, a 46-game starter on the offensive line and a two-time team captain, in the sixth round with the 201st overall pick. He will sign a four-year deal worth just over $4.0 million. The 6-foot-5, 306-pound Patterson is the 10th Irish offensive lineman taken since 2014 and the fourth since 2021. His selection means all five primary starters on the Irish's 2020 offensive line have either been drafted or started at least one NFL game. Patterson started 12 games at left guard in 2022 and 34 at center from 2019-21. He did not allow a sack in 1,608 career pass blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He allowed just 37 career quarterback pressures, per PFF, including only 9 this past season. He posted a PFF run blocking grade of at least 70.2 in all four seasons as a starter. Notre Dame inserted Patterson as the first-team center in the opening spring practice of 2019, a head-turning move and quick rise for a player who spent his freshman season at tackle and took a redshirt. He never left center that spring, though, and locked down the starting job. From there, the only thing that knocked him out of a starter's role was an injury. Health, though, was a bugaboo. Pat- terson missed the final four games of 2020 and all of 2021 spring practice with a Lisfranc injury. He also suffered a torn pectoral muscle that knocked him out of 2022 spring practice. A foot sprain sidelined him for the 2022 opener at Ohio State. Patterson was a likely draft selection if he had declared after the 2021 season. He returned for Year 5, though, because he wanted to help his pro readiness and feel prepared to start as a rookie. A year playing for respected offensive line coach Harry Hiestand surely helped. But his draft stock and NFL outlook re- mained largely unchanged. Notre Dame has 525 all-time NFL Draft picks, the most in college football. ✦ Foskey was selected in the second round (40th overall) by the Saints after producing back-to- back 11-sack seasons en route to becoming Notre Dame's all-time sack leader (26.5). PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS FIGHTING IRISH HEADED TO NFL Drafted Player, Pos. Pick (Round) Team Michael Mayer, TE 35 (2nd) Las Vegas Raiders Isaiah Foskey, DE 40 (2nd) New Orleans Saints Jarrett Patterson, OL 201 (6th) Houston Texans Undrafted Free Agents Team Jayson Ademilola, DT Jacksonville Jaguars Justin Ademilola, DE* Green Bay Packers Blake Grupe, K New Orleans Saints Brandon Joseph, S Detroit Lions Josh Lugg, OL* Chicago Bears Chris Smith, DT Detroit Lions * Received rookie minicamp invites